1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for encapsulating an electronic component. The invention also relates to a method for encapsulating with encapsulating material an electronic component, in particular a semiconductor, fixed on a carrier.
2) Description of the Related Art
The encapsulating of an electronic component fixed on a carrier is a technique applied on a large scale, particularly in the production of semiconductors. More and more emphasis is being placed on the use of low-lead or lead-free soldering material on the carrier, which has less of an environmental impact but which has the drawback that it must be processed at higher temperatures than lead-containing soldering materials. This is a drawback at the position where the encapsulating material must later be released from the soldering material. One solution here for is feeding of an encapsulation via a separating element at the position where the carrier has to remain free of encapsulating material. Such a technique is known from, among others, the international patent application PCT/NL00/00458. In the method and device described in this publication use is made of a holder member which is displaceable between the mould parts of an encapsulating device and with which an edge of a carrier can be urged against one of the mould parts, whereupon the feed of encapsulating material takes place over the holder member. The thus proposed technique functions effectively but requires a complex construction of the device. Because of the load on the plunger housing (sleeve), it has to take a sufficiently sturdy form and a displacing mechanism there for also has to be fitted. In addition, there is a real possibility of loss of adhesion (delamination) of the carrier and the encapsulating material connecting onto the carrier at locations where this loss of adhesion is undesirable when the holder member is displaced after the encapsulating process to a position where the carrier can be taken out of the encapsulating device. A further drawback is that the prior art device can only be used for encapsulating components on one side of the plunger housing.
The object of the present invention is to provide a device and method which are simplified compared to the prior art and with which the existing advantages can be retained in combination with a simplified technique.